


Talking to the Moon

by lornrocks



Category: Fandom: Heroes
Genre: Angst, Friendship, M/M, Probably ooc, Romance, Slash, Swearing, Yelling, emokids, petlar, pylar, radiostation, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-16 00:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lornrocks/pseuds/lornrocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter wants to be friends, Gabriel wants more. Maybe they need to compromise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Talking to the Moon

"Do you think there could ever be more between us?"

The words hang in the air long after they're spoken, and Peter looks up surprised from his cup of coffee. Gabriel is slouched against the back of the booth he's sitting in, staring at Peter across the table, looking exhausted. Peter thinks.

"Yes," he answers, at last, but the other man doesn't seem to be satisfied.

"Yes, as in you've thought about it, or yes you think it could happen?"

Peter's not sure. He thought maybe he was, once, but now- he's not.

"I've thought about it."

Gabriel stares at Peter, this searching seething gaze that makes the medic's skin crawl, and Peter looks away.

"I care about you a lot, Gabriel," Peter says, looking across the way at something else. He can feel the tension in the air, and he closes his eyes, reaching up to rub a hand against his forehead in a vain attempt to make his head stop hurting. (It doesn't work.)

He knows that his friend is watching his every move, trying to read his body language, but if Peter is honest with himself, even he has no idea. Finally, he reopens his eyes and stares at a spot just away from the other man's eyes, so he doesn't have to see what expression will grace Gabriel's face once he says what he needs to say.

"We're finally friends, and now...you want to complicate things? I don't-" He pauses, and watches the way Gabriel has subtly leaned back from where he was before. "-I don't want to lose what we have."

Peter thinks he's imagining it, but Gabriel actually looks like he deflates for a moment before regaining composure and leaning forward, clear insult in his eyes.

"What do we have, exactly? We spent five years together, just the two of us, we have this whole history, and you're going to brush me aside like it's nothing to you?" He stands up and shakes his head. "You're afraid. You're afraid that just once, something good will happen, so you don't even try. I can't believe you, Peter."

He turns on his heel and stalks off, out of the coffee shop, and Peter wants to call after him, but he wants to avoid making a scene. He ends up getting up and heading back to the apartment around five minutes later, only to find Gabriel packing up his bag with the few things he owns, agitation clearly written in his stance.

"Where are you going?" Peter asks, and Gabriel casts a glance in his direction before continuing what he's doing.

"I'm leaving here."

Peter grabs Gabriel's shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"Don't, please," he begs, but the other man just rolls his eyes.

"I'm not staying here anymore, Peter, not when you're going to act like everything is just fine."

Peter's grip weakens.

"We could just pretend this never happened," he offers, and Gabriel actually pushes the other man's hand off of him, whirling around to use his full height to his advantage.

"Fuck it all, Peter. I love you, okay? I'm completely crazy about you and you shove it back in my face like it means absolutely nothing to you! And don't use that bullshit excuse that you don't want to ruin our friendship, either. I know the truth." He glares, and Peter has to reach over and grab something because he feels like the floor just dropped out from underneath him.

"You could stay..." he whispers, staring at the floor, and he hears a defeated sigh.

"What, I stay and watch you move on? See you with other people and feel jealous about something I have no right to feel upset about? Feel the gap between us get even larger with each passing day until we can't stand the sight of each other?" He shakes his head and grabs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "I'd rather we just end this here."

He's at the door before Peter even processes what's happening, and right before the door slams shut, the medic manages to make out a grumbled, "Thanks for everything," and then that's it. He's gone.

Peter realizes later, with some degree of panic, that the phone he had given Gabriel has been left on the kitchen table. After some searching and calling around, Peter gives up, collapsing exhausted on his bed. The next few days pass much in the same way, until Emma drags Hesam over to their friend's apartment.

Peter won't speak to them, but they know something is wrong and make it their mission to cheer him up (well, Emma does. Hesam just sort of goes along with it). A few days go by, and Peter starts to go back to his normal life, and then a few more weeks go by, but it's like he's on auto pilot. Nothing seems to matter to him, just working and sleeping and sometimes eating, but mostly, just staring out the window.

Almost a month after Gabriel left, Peter finds himself listening to his iPod, feeling sorry for himself as usual, when a song he hasn't really heard before starts to play. He frowns, not really remembering putting it on, but then he listens to the lyrics and realizes he has to do something.

He remembers an old friend from college, who became a DJ for a local radio station. Peter tutored him through most of their junior year, and because of that, the man was able to pass his bio class. Peter pays him a visit, and after explaining the situation, his friend (Georgie, they always called him) smiles and slaps him on the shoulder.

"You got it," he says, and then Peter has to return home and wait.

A week after he talks to Georgie, Claire calls him up.

"Is it true?" she asks.

"Is what true?"

She sighs.

"I was talking to West the other day and he says there's a radio station in Manhatten that's been playing the same song, every hour on the hour, for the past week."

Peter hums, a sign for Claire to go on, and she does.

"The song is incredibly romantic, it's asking someone to come back," she elaborates, and Peter interrupts, "I don't see what this has to do with me."

He can almost imagine his niece frowning and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Because the dedication for the song is _'To Gabe from Pete, I was wrong. Please come home.'_ ," she recites, and Peter wonders if that was too obvious.

"If you're suggesting what I think you are, Claire, then you're being ridiculous. Believe it or not, those are common names."

She scoffs.

"I'm supposed to believe that someone named Peter is sending out a message to someone named Gabe, who left him?" She waits a beat. "And you happen to be named Peter, and someone named Gabriel just moved out of your apartment."

Peter feels his headache coming on again.

"Claire, it's a coincidence. It must be. Why would I beg Gabriel to come back?"

There's a pause as the former cheer leader considers the options, before she sighs dramatically.

"Because you love him?"

Peter's lips quirk in a sad smile.

"Yeah, well, that's...another story."

Before his niece can say anything else, he quickly explains he has to go and hangs up. The next week after that, the story gains momentum and it becomes sort of a local legend, everyone wondering who the people are. Luckily, Georgie refuses to reveal his reasons, and the mystery continues.

It's not until two and a half weeks after Peter gave the request that he's sitting on the roof, wondering if he should tell Georgie to stop, when he hears a soft thump behind him. He doesn't have to turn to see what it is; he already knows.

"So that song, it was from you."

The words spoken aren't a question. Peter nods.

"I should have known you'd do something so cliche and ridiculous," Gabriel is sighing, before reaching a hand out to turn Peter around. Before Peter can respond or get offended, Gabriel kisses him, and it's so absolutely perfect and breathtaking and even if it isn't really, Peter could care less because Gabriel is back home with him and he just feels _whole_ again.

"I'm sorry I was an idiot," he says, and Gabriel just smiles and kisses him some more.

The next day, Georgie stops playing the song. Hundreds of calls come in, asking what happened, and he's glad to report that the two mystery people are finally back together. While the massive overplay of the song has given the artist who sings it a huge boost in revenue, Peter can't find that he cares, not when he has his Gabriel back. This time, though, when people ask about them, he always says they're best friends, first, before elaborating.

It seems fitting, somehow.

**Author's Note:**

> Written a long time ago for LJ.


End file.
